Shadow Crossing
by SapphireMind
Summary: What caused James to change so dramatically between fifth and seventh year? Where did the invisibility cloak come from? Why did Peter betray his friends? Fate is a fickle mistress, crossing lives and lines in unexpected places.
1. I

Author's notes: To those to whom it is not blatantly obvious, I do not own HP or any part thereof. I am borrowing, not making money and would ask pitifully to not be sued.

That out of the way, please read and enjoy. Please please review if you read it, just to let me know that anyone has bothered to read it!!! There are so many HP fics that it is very easy to feel lost and like no one bothers to read.

O o o o o o o o o o o O

The summer after James Potter's fifth year at Hogwart's started off grandly; Sirius was living with him and his parents to escape his horrible family, and Peter and Remus were often around too, what more could a sixteen year old boy ask for?

'_Lily Evans,'_ he thought to himself, but shrugged. She made it very clear to him earlier in the spring that she wanted nothing to do with him. She defended _Snivellus_ even as he was insulting her. He ruffled his hair and looked to his three best friends, "So what's on for tonight?"

Sirius grinned, "We could head to Hogsmeade and see if they have a band playing tonight."

Remus rolled his eyes, "We can't, we're underage and they won't let us in."

"Bah!" Sirius snorted, "Why let something little like that stop us? I'm sure we could get around it if we tried." His eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Yeah! Sounds like a great idea Sirius," Peter said; he almost never disagreed with Sirius or James.

James made a face, "I don't know, I'm not sure I want to go to the trouble. Plus…it's not like it's _that_ exciting there. I want to do something _different_."

"Yeah, like not get insulted by Lily?" Sirius snickered as he spoke.

James threw a Remembrall at Sirius. "Shut up. She's just stuck up and full of herself."

"So, that's why you doodle her initials and spend most of History of Magic watching her?" Remus said mildly.

James stood up, turning his back to his friends. "Drop it. I'm over her. So let's figure out something else to do; something _fun._" He started pacing in his room. Nothing would come to him and he was aware that his friends were just watching him with amusement. They knew as well as he did that he wasn't really over Lily, but it didn't matter.

"We could start a map of Hogsmeade?" Peter suggested hopefully.

"Booooring," Sirius drawled. "We don't need a map of Hogsmeade. Plus, who wants to be studying and enchanting on a beautiful summer night? We should be shaking things up." He sat up suddenly, "I got it! I can't believe I forgot about it!"

"What?" the other Marauders said in unison, looking at Sirius expectantly.

"My cousin's engagement party is tonight!" His eyes glittered dangerously.

James snorted, "Narcissa? She's marrying that prat Lucious. I can't believe they actually invited you."

Sirius shrugged with a smirk, "They didn't, but that doesn't mean that we can't go. Snivellus will probably be there and we can wreak some havoc."

James (and therefore Peter) looked enthused, though Remus looked doubtful, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Padfoot. A lot of those people are supposed to be Death Eaters."

"All the more reason to disrupt and disturb their social event!" Sirius replied cheerfully. Remus still was unconvinced, but James was already making plans to nick his dad's invisibility cloak.

"Come on Remus, we won't do anything really bad, just jinx the dance floor so it is super slippery, melt the ice sculptures and stuff," James coaxed. "We'll keep it under control and they'll never know it was us."

Remus sighed, "Alright." He stood up, still looking like he'd rather be staying in for the night. "Padfoot and Wormtail, go incognito so we don't have to all fit under the cloak." Remus thought that if they were going to do it, he would at least help make sure they weren't caught.

Just as James' hand touched the doorknob, he heard his mother calling from downstairs. He gave a quick apologetic look to his friends, holding up a finger, "Be right back."

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"What's going on, Mum?" He looked between his mother and father, who were sitting tensely on the couch.

"Your friends need to go home," she said, with a hint of apology in her tone. "Except Sirius of course, he's welcome to stay, if he wants."

He looked at his parents like they were crazy, "Why? We weren't doing anything upstairs! We were just getting ready to go out," he protested.

His father looked alarmed, "No! Your friends can floo home, but you need to stay in."

James' eyes narrowed, "What do you mean, for now? What's going on?"

His mum looked to his dad, who looked uneasy, "I just got flooed by Dumbledore." James looked anxious now, wondering why Dumbledore was contacting his parents during holidays. He opened his mouth to profess his innocence against whatever charges there were against him but his father silenced him with his hand. "It's not about you, James. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been on a bit of a rampage this evening."

"Death Eaters version of a celebration," he muttered and his father looked at him sharply, prompting him to explain. "Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy are announcing their engagement tonight formally."

His parents nodded, that making sense with the information they had. "Anyway," his dad continued, "Dumbledore thinks it would be better if those of us who were not with _him_, if we kept close for a tonight. Maybe the week."

James looked horrified; he didn't really think that his family was at risk from Voldemort, they were purebloods, even if they didn't share Voldemort's beliefs. "No! It's holidays and I don't want to be stuck inside all the time."

His father looked at him sternly, "We're serious, James. We know you don't want to, but please trust us and stay close for just a little while, these are dangerous times." He gave his son a knowing smile, "There will be plenty of time left in the summer to have adventures, alright?"

James nodded morosely, getting up and heading back up the stairs, his mum calling after him, "We love you James, we're just trying to keep you safe." He nodded without turning around, returning to his room.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"I suppose you guys were listening in," he said, noting the glum expressions Remus' and Peter's faces.

"Tough luck mate. We'll floo in tomorrow, ok?" Remus clapped his shoulder. "Look on the bright side: since Sirius is living with you, you won't be totally alone."

James rolled his eyes at the attempt to cheer him and watched Remus and Peter exit his room, looking at Sirius, who retained a smirk on his face, "What are you planning Padfoot?" He kept his voice quiet, glancing back at the door.

Sirius stood, stretching elegantly, then flicked James' forehead, "Invisibility cloak. You and I both know that _he_ won't be knocking down your parents' door tonight. There's tons of muggles to harass." He grinned, "And maybe we could trip some of them up while they're doing it."

James considered for barely a second then grinned widely, "I'm in." They started gathering any supplies they thought they might need. "Bring your mirror, just in case."

Sirius nodded and patted his side, "Already ahead of you! Let's grab our brooms and go!"

"Let me go nick the cloak first; Remus was right, if we're going to do it, we should avoid getting caught." He grinned and slipped out of his bedroom door.

He quietly went down the stairs, ears straining to hear his parents. He could hear them talking in their bedroom, which was incredibly good luck on his part, because the cloak was in his dad's study. He heard a few phrases before he was out of earshot, things about orders and wars and a shadow crossed his face, wondering for a moment if his parents weren't further involved in the war than they let on.

He made it to the study and put those thoughts out of his mind, quietly taking the invisibility cloak from where it was stored in the cabinet, putting it back on before heading up the stairs. He crept closer to his parents' room, trying to hear what they were saying, but all he could hear were the sounds of his mother crying and his father trying to console her. He frowned even more and returned to his room to get Sirius; maybe they could talk about it later.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Flying on a broom while trying to keep an invisibility cloak on was about as difficult as it sounded, so the boys, sharing a broom for now, headed straight for the clouds to hide themselves. As soon as they were out of vision range, Sirius grinned, jumping onto his broom, almost like a muggle cowboy would from a rooftop. He dropped downwards alarmingly for a few moments, then he adjusted and flew next to James.

"Are we still heading for the Malfoy manor?" James called, the wind trying to steal his words from him. He loved flying, the feeling of freedom and power it gave him.

"Sure, let's go." Sirius took the lead and they dove and barrel-rolled through the clouds, getting themselves soaking wet but not caring. It was fun and that was all that mattered.

It didn't take long at all to reach the manor, many of the pure-blooded wizarding families tended to live near to each other. The lights were bright and James could almost hear faint strains of music. He winked at Sirius and then dove straight down towards the ground.

He knew Sirius would be cursing behind him; he wasn't as talented as James on a broom and hated it when James would show off in front of him. The ground came closer and closer and he pulled up on his broom, returning to his position parallel with the ground. He waited for Sirius and grinned at the annoyed look on his friend's face. "What took you so long?"

"Shove it, Prongs," Sirius grumbled with a grin. They slowly reached the ground together, stowing their brooms behind a low stone wall. "You want Padfoot to scope out the scene?" This was his chance to show off; although they were both illegal animagi, Sirius' form was a lot more inconspicuous than James'.

James nodded, "But be quick about it." He waited impatiently as Sirius shifted into Padfoot and trotted off to the Malfoy's home. He paced around, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone who could be watching him. He was beginning to worry about Sirius because he had been gone for so long, when a familiar black dog padded up, bone clamped in his jaws. James smirked and rolled his eyes, "Having fun?" Padfoot wagged his tail energetically. "Is it all clear?" Another wag of the tail, and James nodded, putting on the invisibility cloak.

He let Sirius lead the way, watching carefully from underneath the cloak, making sure he didn't leave obvious footprints or anything like that. They came to a large picture window and he covered Padfoot with the cloak, who quickly returned to his human form.

Inside the room was a ballroom and a group of instruments playing a waltz in the corner – without the aid of any musicians. House elves darted in and out, making sure all the food and drinks were perfect and cleaning any spill that happened to occur.

"Looks pretty boring to me," James stated, looking inside. "There aren't even many people here."

Sirius grinned, "Would you want to come, even if you were evil?" James smothered a laugh and they tried to figure out who all was there.

"Oh! Look what we have here! A greasy git is heading to the dance floor with Enid Warner." They both gave identical shivers. Enid was a Slytherin sixth year who was solidly built and was a wicked beater in Quidditch.

"_Scourgify,_" James whispered, pointing his wand to Snape's shoes instead of his mouth.

They watched as Snape began skating on the dance floor due to the soap suds on the bottom of his shoes. He ripped off the sleeve of Enid's dress and she slugged him, almost automatically, for it. He fell flat on his face after that, house elves swarming to the area to attempt to clean the floor and remove the suds from Snape's shoes. Lucius Malfoy angrily ordered the house elves around, occasionally kicking one.

The boys stayed huddled under the cloak, enjoying the chaos in the party, laughing softly. Snape looked around angrily, trying to find out who hexed him. James and Sirius both held their breath when Snape looked to the window where they were peering in and seemed to stare right at them. His eyes finally moved on and he angrily stormed out.

"I think we better go before he realizes we're out here." James whispered. He wasn't afraid of Snape, but didn't want to be caught out when he had promised his parents that he would stay in. Sirius nodded and they high-tailed it back towards James' house.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"Did you see the look on Enid's face as she slugged him?" Sirius guffawed as they flew through the clouds back towards home.

"Not nearly as good as the look on Snivellus' face as he went skating around the floor!"

"Narcissa looked like she was going to hex him for ruining the party. I wish I could have seen that," Sirius said wistfully. "She is good at hexing, I'll give-" He broke off suddenly, noticing as James had that the clouds they were flying through had taken on a sickly green tinge.

"No," James whispered, diving out of the clouds, seeing the thing he feared most as he approached his house: the dark mark illuminating the sky. "NO!!" He realized the mark was hovering above his own house and he heedlessly flew straight to the ground, not even trying for a graceful landing, tumbling from his broom and scrambling to the front door, which stood slightly ajar.

"James! Wait!" He could vaguely hear Sirius calling behind him, but he didn't care, he had to find his parents. His wand was out and his breath was coming quickly as he ascended the stairs. The house was preternaturally quiet as he crept towards their bedroom.

"No!" he moaned as he looked in, seeing his father's body, still clutching his wand, laying on the floor near the bed. His eyes searched for his mother's body, but didn't see it. Hope surged through him; maybe she had escaped! He ran down the house calling for her, stopping at his own room. "No no no no." He crumpled to the floor to hold his mother's body. It looked like she had gone to his room to try and warn him.

"Oh Merlin," Sirius breathed as he saw his best friend sobbing and holding the body of his mother. "James, we have to call the Ministry to send Aurors, they could still be around!"

"I know where they are!" James yelled. "They're probably heading back to your house, seeing as they are all your relatives and friends!"

Sirius winced at the accusation, saying quietly, "You know I don't truck with them, I couldn't choose my family." His eyes were brimming with tears as well, it was beginning to sink in; the Potters had taken him in when he wanted to escape his family and now they were gone. James' parents, murdered, by Death Eaters. He crouched down next to James, hugging them both, crying with his friend over the loss.


	2. II

A/N: wiggles eyebrows At the bottom. (breaks habit of putting notes at the top)

O o o o o o o o o o o o O

Two weeks later found James and Sirius living at Hogwarts, despite it still being the middle of summer. James had no other family; they had been hit hard by Voldemort and his followers. Sirius of course had no interest in his family and the feeling was heartily mutual, which left very few options for the boys. Dumbledore offered the opportunity to stay at Hogwarts and they reticently accepted it.

James was torn; on one hand, he didn't want to leave his parents' home where all his memories of them were, on the other, the opposite was true. Behind every corner lurked memories that drove a steel spike straight into his heart. Sirius and Remus were who finally convinced him to leave. Remus lived at Hogwarts during the summer anyway, and he was glad to have his friends closer to him. There was also the concern that Voldemort might try and return to finish the last Potter.

So, he packed up everything he could: books, photographs, jewelry and his father's invisibility cloak and bid farewell to the place he had called home for as long as he could remember. In some ways it was harder than the funeral, because even then he could pretend that it wasn't really his parents going into the ground, it was all some horrible mistake. But to leave his home, his family's home…that meant they were never coming back.

Settled back in Gryffindor tower, he felt antsy and uneasy. He wasn't supposed to be there during the summer and the hole in his heart ached constantly. Sirius did his best to try and keep his friend busy. Sirius himself had suffered greatly with the loss of the Potters, but he felt his job, neigh his _duty_, was to take care of James, which included his mental health.

Sirius was greatly worried about James' mental health. He was very concerned that James would try and face Voldemort on his own to try and avenge his parents. Sirius had no illusions what that would mean to James - he would die, painfully. So, he tried to keep a steady stream of activities and jokes to try and engage James in more productive activities, along with the help of Remus.

Remus had suggested the map. One day, they had discovered a secret passageway and Sirius had remarked in an off-hand manner that they should remember where it was and thus the Marauder's Map was born. They had hours upon hours to work at discovering every inch of the castle, diligently recording it into a map. Peter, in a flash of brilliance, thought of the idea to try and charm the map to let them know where teachers were. He and Remus worked tirelessly to figure out which charms would be needed and how to allow them to work within the security charms of the castle.

These pursuits were enough to keep their minds and hands occupied during the remainder of the summer, for which the staff of Hogwarts was eternally grateful. They weren't sure exactly what the boys were working on, but it did keep them out of trouble. Filch was suspicious of them, but Remus' special touch to the map was to keep it hidden to all but those who knew the secret. He had impressed even Sirius with its ability to insult anyone who tried to force it to reveal its secrets.

Looking back on it, James couldn't say it was a good summer; the black cloud of his parents' death still loomed over him, no matter what else he did, but at least it was tolerable, thanks to his friends.

O o o o o o o o o o o O

While James was doing his best to show his friends that he was ok, he knew in his heart that it wasn't ok and that it wouldn't be ok for a very long time. He started trying to think of ways that he would be able to deal with the pain and guilt on a long term scale, which meant only one thing to him: he had to become an Auror.

He approached Professor McGonagall several weeks before school began again about the subject. "An Auror, Mr. Potter." Her eyes, softened by sympathy for his loss, still bored into him. "That is quite an…ambitious career goal," she said diplomatically.

He nodded, meeting her eyes and showing his determination. "Yes, it is and I can do it. I have the scores to do it," he added, almost defiantly.

"There's no doubt Mr. Potter that you have the intelligence, but what I fear you lack is the discipline. Being an Auror means one would have to follow rules occasionally," she said pointedly.

"I can follow rules," he said defensively, then muttered softly, "I just choose not to."

McGonagall couldn't help but smirk slightly when he said that. "Well then Mr. Potter, you need to begin to make some different choices in your life. NEWT level classes in Auror subjects are not easy, they take a lot of self-discipline and study."

"I can do it," he said solemnly. He had to do it, he needed to help bring down Voldemort if it was the last thing he did, and becoming an Auror would train him to do just that.

She regarded him carefully, speaking softly and gently, "I believe you can Mr. Potter." Her gaze sharpened again, and she spoke briskly, "I will change your schedule then Mr. Potter. I would suggest that any free time you have, you study to be prepared for this year. It will not be easy."

"Thank you Professor McGonagall, you won't be sorry." He nodded to her and took his leave from her office.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

So in between his exploring with the Marauders, James tried to study for his NEWT level classes that he had not been prepared to take, namely Charms and Potions. He wasn't worried about DADA or Transfiguration, but the other two subjects were more challenging for him. He had just barely managed to qualify to continue on in the classes, so he took McGonagall's advice to heart.

He tried to hide his studying, he hadn't told his friends about his change in career plans. They would try and talk him out of it or fuss over it too much, knowing how it was related to his parents. So he kept it to himself, reading books at night and when he had a moment alone, plus he was secretly afraid he would fail and he didn't want that to be common knowledge.

Before he knew it, students began returning to Hogwarts, making his covert studying even more difficult. He had a reputation to keep up, after all. He lounged in the common room with the rest of the Marauders the night of the welcome banquet. He and Sirius were inspecting all the girls in Gryffindor; well, to be honest, Sirius was inspecting them, James was half-heartedly playing along.

Lily Evans had, of course, come back and he couldn't help staring at her, nodding occasionally to Sirius to keep up the appearance of interest. She turned around and caught him staring, looking at him oddly. He looked away, trying to seem nonchalant. Her voice drifting over his shoulder surprised him.

"I'm sorry, Potter." He turned around to look at her, a sad expression on her face. "About, you know…"

James felt a flare of anger at her pity. "Whatever, Evans. I know you can't stand me, so don't start pitying poor old me now," he said harshly.

She recoiled at his tone, muttered a quick farewell and retreated to her friends. "What did you do that for you prat?" Sirius inquired with a sigh, "She was actually voluntarily speaking to you, that should make you happy."

"She pities poor James Potter, orphaned by Him." He was aware of his voice raising slightly and Sirius' expression becoming concerned. "I don't need her pity, or yours!" He stood up and stormed off to his room, drawing the curtains tight around the bed.

O o o o o o o o o O

"Can you tell him I'm sorry?" Lily approached Sirius later that night. She looked guilty and didn't meet his eyes.

"I'm not sure if he's talking to me either at this point," Sirius said with a shrug.

She sighed, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Look, don't sweat it, I know James can't stay mad at you for very long," Sirius said with a grin.

She cocked an eyebrow in the air curiously, "Why not?"

Sirius was struck dumb for a moment when Remus came to his rescue, picking up the conversation thread easily, "He doesn't want to get on the bad side of a Prefect."

"Oh." She nodded, "Speaking of which Remus, we have a meeting in twenty minutes, don't forget."

Remus nodded as Sirius whispered to him gratefully, "Thanks, mate. James would have hexed me into next week if I had said something." Remus rolled his eyes and patted him on the back, going to gather his stuff for the Prefect meeting.

O o o o o o o o o o o O

"Hey James…?" Peter called hesitantly into the room.

"What is it, Wormtail?" James said with a sigh.

Peter walked into their shared dorm, shrugging, "Just wanted to get away from everyone downstairs." He purposefully avoided saying that he was concerned about his friend, knowing that it would piss him off. "Sirius was starting to get on my nerves a bit." He sat down on his bed, across from James.

James pulled back the curtains with a sigh, "What's he doing now?"

"Nothing really, I just get tired of constantly rating the girls. It's not like any of them are going to go out with me," he said matter-of-factly. "Not with you and Sirius around."

James winced, not bothering to deny the truth in the statement. He and Sirius were popular and considered good-looking and apart from Lily, he could probably get most of the girls to agree to a date with him, if he wanted, same as Sirius. "I'm sorry…" he began.

"I don't want your pity, any more than you want theirs." Peter snapped. He relaxed a bit, "But I'm ok with it, really. You guys are good friends and it's not like I'd be getting many girls without you either. I've gone places I'd never thought I'd go with you three."

James smiled sadly, "We do make a pretty good team. I guess you blokes are the only family I have left."

"Bloody hell James, don't start getting sentimental on me." Peter said uncomfortably. "Save that for your girlfriend." He laughed and threw a pillow at his friend.

"Don't make me jinx you. Or worse, set you up for the next Hogsmeade trip!" James smirked and threw the pillow back at Peter.

"Merlin forbid. You'd probably set me up with Enid from Slytherin." They both gave a shudder at the thought.

James stood and took Peter into a headlock and rubbed his knuckles slightly into his friend's scalp, "Nah, not even I would do that. And thanks, mate." He didn't need to specify exactly what for, they both knew.

"Isn't that what I'm for?" Peter grinned wryly, "But, if you ever want to get out of here, I'm sure Mum and Dad would love to have you over."

"Thanks," he said sincerely. Then he grinned, "Though, since most of us are living at Hogwarts now, we just need to get you confined to the Castle for the next holidays."

Peter snorted, "No way Prongs. My mom would send me a howler a day if I got confined to the Castle. But I'm sure she'd let me sign on to stay with my friends. Especially," he continued in a high falsetto, mocking his mother, "for that poor James Potter boy."

They both dissolved into laughter and James felt much better. He wouldn't have to face Christmas alone without his parents, the rest of the Marauders would help him through.

O o o o o o o o o o O

Thank you to my reviews, they are very appreciated :) And thanks for the tips **Lacy**; I'm used to a much smaller and more 'informal' fandom, it takes some getting used to playing with the big boys. :D And thanks **fireinu** for the review. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So, read, review, tell your friends :)


	3. III

Classes began in earnest and they were more difficult that James had anticipated. None of the Marauders were on the Auror track: Remus had aspirations of teaching and opening a school for werewolves. Peter was focusing on a desk job at the Ministry, he wasn't sure in what department, but he took courses that would generally help him there. Sirius was of course being anything but serious and seemed to have picked his classes at random, with no concern towards career.

James noticed quickly that Lily Evans shared all his classes and he wondered if she was on the same career track as him. Potions was the only class that none of his friends had continued onto and the one class he really tried to avoid Lily in. Potions wasn't his strongest subject and she seemed to have a gift in the subject.

"James Potter!" Professor Slughorn snapped. "What are you doing in that cauldron?" James hadn't been a favorite of Slughorn's ever. He was a pure-blood but considered a traitor and he was clearly on the wrong side of Voldemort with the murder of his parents.

James had been trying to make the potion as directed, but a quick glance around showed that the liquid in front of him was a dark amber when it was supposed to be an robin's-egg blue. "Brewing butterbeer?" James said, smirking to cover his lie and grinning hearing the titters of most of the class. The greasy git in the corner, Snape, of course was glaring at him, but he didn't count.

A quick swish of Slughorn's wand and the cauldron was empty. "You will pay attention in this class or I will remove you permanently. NEWT level Potions is not a place for this behavior. Do you understand?" James nodded meekly, knowing he absolutely needed this class to continue with his plans. "Good. Now, go sit with Lily, who is brewing an excellent example of the Clarifying Potion. Brilliant work there, Lily. Hope to see you at the next Slug's Club, dear," Slughorn added with a wink as he continued around the classroom.

Lily smiled weakly and nodded and then rolled her eyes as James slid into a seat next to her. "It's like that man is just coated in slime," she whispered under her breath. James' eyebrow raised curiously, but he didn't comment, instead intently watching exactly what Lily was doing to make the potion.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

After the class was finished and the students were filing out of the dungeon, Lily put a hand on James' shoulder. He tensed, expecting it to be another attempt to comment about his parents.

"You were actually paying attention to the potion," she said with incredulity.

"Why should that come as such a shock, Evans?" he retorted. "Despite what you think, I am intelligent."

"Despite how you behave you mean," she said with a smirk. "It just surprised me. Usually you just coast along and still manage to pass." She eyed him as they walked slowly through the halls, the others having moved far ahead.

"Things change." James' voice was offhand but he looked at a sconce on the wall as he spoke. "Why do you care?" His eyes returned to her with his demand.

"Who said I did? I was just curious." She hesitated then continued, "We're in all the same classes."

James was about to fire off a snappy retort and instead just nodded and shrugged. She nodded silently in response and they stood at the end of the corridor right before the Great Hall. There was an uncomfortable silence that James hated. He was good at making jokes and getting women, it was just this damn woman who threw him for such a loop. He opened his mouth to say something when Sirius ran into view, skidding into his friend.

"James, m'boy! We've been looking all over for you! It's almost shack-" Sirius stopped suddenly, realizing that Lily was there for the first time. "Uh. Shacklebolt's birthday. But. Clearly I am interrupting." Sirius gave a smarmy grin to Lily who began walking away.

"No, you boys have your fun, I've got to study." Lily gave a last, curious look at James, then walked out of sight.

"Sorry mate," Sirius apologized. "Didn't even see her. Remus is feeling a bit antsy and wants to go over early, if you don't mind."

James grinned, forced at first, then more natural, "No problem whatsoever." He tried his best to not watch Lily as she walked away, and he headed off to meet the rest of the Marauders.

O o o o o o o o o O

"So, you're making some progress with Lily I see," Sirius said with a grin as they made their way to the whomping willow to meet with Wormtail and Moony.

"Not really," James said shortly. "She just feels bad for me." He shook his head in disgust, "I can't stand the way that people look at me now."

Sirius shrugged, "She may feel bad for you, but she also likes you, I could see it in her eyes." James rolled his eyes in return and Sirius glanced down at the books James was carrying, "How are the Auror classes going?"

"Potions is terrible. I can't see to get it quite right," he said, suddenly breaking into a sly grin, "But Slughorn has paired me with Evans, so I guess it isn't all bad."

Sirius punched him in the shoulder playfully, "See, that's the James we all know and love. Now. Who's going to go for the knot this time?" The boys had arrived at the willow, its branches waving wildly. "We should wait for Wormtail. He's good at it, right?"

James sighed, "Don't be a prat. I'll get it. Hold my stuff." Quickly and agilely, James darted in and touched the special knot on the trunk of the tree that made the branches quickly calm.

"I'm not being a prat!" Sirius huffed indignantly. "It's just he's shorter and … Bloody hell," he said with an impish grin, "you're right, I'm terrible."

Grabbing his books as he made his way back towards the secret passage, James snorted, "And you are so proud of it too."

Sirius laughed, "Gotta go with your strengths, m'boy!" He clapped his friend on the shoulder and followed James into the passage, just as Peter came running down to join them. "You almost missed the boat, Peter. What were you doing?"

Peter seemed annoyed, "_You_ were supposed to be meeting Kelly from Ravenclaw this afternoon. She couldn't find you and I had to convince her I had no idea where you had gone off to. And this girl is persistent." There was no compliment in his voice though, Peter clearly was not impressed with a girl who would put up with Sirius's behavior.

An off-handed wave was Sirius's reply, "Thanks, mate." With that, he hurried towards the end of the tunnel, where Remus would be waiting.

James sighed and shrugged with a grin at Peter, "He just doesn't think sometimes."

Peter looked critically after Sirius, "Only sometimes?"

With a laugh, James nodded, "Alright, most of the time. But that's why we have you and Remus. You two keep our feet on the ground." James paused and looked at Peter with a sly smirk, "You think Kelly is cute, don't you?"

Peter punched his arm with a roll of his eyes, "No. I prefer my _women_," he emphasized the word carefully, "with brains and personalities. Sirius likes bubbly little girls."

"Ooo! Got someone in mind, have you, Peter?" James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No!" The reddening of his ears and neck belied his vociferous denial though. "No one really," he added with a mutter.

As they reached the end of the passageway, James grabbed Peter and rubbed his scalp with his knuckles, "Liar! We'll drag it out of you eventually. She's a lucky girl though." James winked encouragingly, "Not every girl can be the object of desire of the Marauders." Peter shoved him off and muttered objections to the whole idea as they caught up with Remus and Sirius and the subject changed.

O o o o o o o o o o o o O

Unbeknownst to the trio, there was someone watching them slip into the hidden passage in the Whomping Willow. Bright green eyes watched them disappear, then retreated back to the Castle.

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the long time between updates. I'm a bad bad writer. But this story is still cooking and being written, please don't give up on it yet!


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